Uso de poli(tereftalato de etileno) reciclado como suporte para TiO2 e aplicação em fotocatálise heterogênea

Abstract

This work used poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) sheets as a support for the immobilization of TiO2 P25 particles dispersed in ethanol in an acid medium (pH = 4). Concentrations of 1, 5 and 7% (w/v) of the dispersion were pulverized 5 consecutive times on the polymeric material, using a painting airbrush and a drying process at 40 °C between each pulverization. These photocatalytic materials were tested for the degradation of methylene blue dye in aqueous solution (10 mg.L-1) during 300 minutes under UV-A light, showing degradation percentages of 72.0; 62.1 and 80.6% for the 1, 5 and 7% (w/v) suspensions, respectively. However, in the materials containing 5 and 7% of photocatalyst, the particles rapidly leached into the dye solution. PET/TiO2 1%, which was evaluated as the best material produced, was tested for 3 more successive cycles of degradation and continued to show high photocatalytic activity.